jjgrl55's review against another edition
4.0
Beneath a Marble Sky was an easily enjoyable novel. Though the book is a bit simple in its design (characters are either perfectly good or horribly evil, etc) you can't help but be sucked in by the lush imagery of the novel. I do suspect that Shors probably embellished history quite a bit to deliver this tale, but personally I can excuse such embellishment if the story peaks my interest and encourages me to study the actual history further, and this book definitely has made me want to discover more about the real people behind the Taj Mahal. For those who fear this novel is all about the building of the Taj Mahal, the book is much bigger than that, with political intrigue, love stories and battle scenes. I was a bit frustrated at times with the main character's choices , but the tale kept me interested and entertained. If you are looking for an engaging story, and can forgive a bit of historical inaccuracy, certainly give this book a shot.
Spoiler
(why oh why didn't she kill her brother when she had the chance!)upgirlcd's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful love story that takes the reader on a journey through the eyes of the Emperor's daughter. Generations of Muslims and Hindus, their faith, their fighting, their rich and their poor...Sometimes the writing got too detailed; sometimes predictable. I was drawn in by the story of Jahanara and her family. I cried with her losses; I raged with her at her betrayers. She was a passionate narrator, who endured much throughout her years. Very touching.
spahade's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a great read, especially if you have read Twentieth Wife and Feast of the Roses by Indu Sundaresan, this book feels like the third installment of the series.
sarahunsaker's review against another edition
5.0
Love, love, love this book!! It has all the betrayals, secrets, romance of an old English novel, yet it is about a royal family in India, and the building if the Taj Mahal. Great characters and storyline, will definitely be reading more by the author.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
3.0
Recommended by Ellen J. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sbeneath%20a%20marble%20sky__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
joha_010's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sobritt's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
weaselweader's review against another edition
4.0
A monument to undying love
A romantic reconstruction of imperial life in 17th century India, Beneath a Marble Sky recounts the turbulent story of princess Jahanara, the daughter of the emperor who commissioned the construction of the Taj Mahal as a fabulous testament to the overwhelming love of his wife. Well educated, literate, a wily diplomat, savvy political advisor and a bright, witty conversationalist and companion at a time when Muslim women were held in particularly low esteem, Jahanara has been well taught by her mother who bequeathed the solemn responsibility for the care of her ailing father to Jahanara on her death bed.
Now an elderly woman herself, the story is told in the form of a flashback narrated from Jahanara's point of view as she relates the fascinating, complex, violent and disturbing history of her family to her grand-daughters. Her soft spoken, pacifist eldest brother Dara, the rightful heir to the imperial throne dreams of the day he can see the Muslim community in peaceful co-existence with those professing the majority Hindu faith. In complete contrast, her younger brother, Aurangzeb, is so consumed by jealousy of his brother's position as heir and the deep hatred of Hindus whom he labels godless heretics, that he spends his entire life plotting the coup and the civil war necessary to steal the throne from his father and brother. Jahanara's story, set against the backdrop of the construction of the Taj Mahal also tells of her unrequited impossible love for Isa, architect of the Taj Mahal and a commoner that Jahanara can never marry and the exquisite pain of her arranged, political marriage to Khondamir, an ugly, evil, conniving merchant with some very sleazy, distasteful sexual proclivities.
Beneath a Marble Sky is many things for many readers - an accomplished historical fiction with lots of savory details for time and place; a compelling political page-turner loaded with intrigue, violence, passion and pathos; as well as a powerful moving romance that tells of three distinctly different but heart-warming relationships that come to fruition in ways that will draw a sigh and a smile from even the most romance-phobic male readers.
My taste in historical fiction would have enjoyed more time spent on the context of the story - more background, for example, as to the religious tensions that were so central to the story and perhaps a little more detail describing the common man's daily life in a setting which to us is so completely exotic and foreign. But, to his credit, Shors did not overstate his case or overstay his welcome by producing a needlessly padded heavyweight door-stopper which, sadly, is often the case with contemporary historical fiction authors. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
A romantic reconstruction of imperial life in 17th century India, Beneath a Marble Sky recounts the turbulent story of princess Jahanara, the daughter of the emperor who commissioned the construction of the Taj Mahal as a fabulous testament to the overwhelming love of his wife. Well educated, literate, a wily diplomat, savvy political advisor and a bright, witty conversationalist and companion at a time when Muslim women were held in particularly low esteem, Jahanara has been well taught by her mother who bequeathed the solemn responsibility for the care of her ailing father to Jahanara on her death bed.
Now an elderly woman herself, the story is told in the form of a flashback narrated from Jahanara's point of view as she relates the fascinating, complex, violent and disturbing history of her family to her grand-daughters. Her soft spoken, pacifist eldest brother Dara, the rightful heir to the imperial throne dreams of the day he can see the Muslim community in peaceful co-existence with those professing the majority Hindu faith. In complete contrast, her younger brother, Aurangzeb, is so consumed by jealousy of his brother's position as heir and the deep hatred of Hindus whom he labels godless heretics, that he spends his entire life plotting the coup and the civil war necessary to steal the throne from his father and brother. Jahanara's story, set against the backdrop of the construction of the Taj Mahal also tells of her unrequited impossible love for Isa, architect of the Taj Mahal and a commoner that Jahanara can never marry and the exquisite pain of her arranged, political marriage to Khondamir, an ugly, evil, conniving merchant with some very sleazy, distasteful sexual proclivities.
Beneath a Marble Sky is many things for many readers - an accomplished historical fiction with lots of savory details for time and place; a compelling political page-turner loaded with intrigue, violence, passion and pathos; as well as a powerful moving romance that tells of three distinctly different but heart-warming relationships that come to fruition in ways that will draw a sigh and a smile from even the most romance-phobic male readers.
My taste in historical fiction would have enjoyed more time spent on the context of the story - more background, for example, as to the religious tensions that were so central to the story and perhaps a little more detail describing the common man's daily life in a setting which to us is so completely exotic and foreign. But, to his credit, Shors did not overstate his case or overstay his welcome by producing a needlessly padded heavyweight door-stopper which, sadly, is often the case with contemporary historical fiction authors. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss